The Other Side of Blue Grass
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
Richmond is a small town in the Knobs region of Kentucky population about 22,000 people. Richmond is just off Interstate 75 about twenty-seven miles south of Lexington, KY. Richmond is in the Knobs region, which borders the Bluegrass Region to the South. The hills near the Appalachian Mountains, resemble knobs. This is the origin of the name for the region. Richmond is the county seat of Madison County. The economy of the area is predominantly agricultural. After World War II, the Federal Government bought large tracks of land for an Army ordnance depot that was later named, "The Bluegrass Ordnance Depot." The Bluegrass Ordnance Depot and Eastern Kentucky University became the two major employers in the city and county. It was the fall time of the year. The trees of the region presented a beautiful fall spectacle. The sugar maples in the area displayed the brilliant yellow, red, orange, burnt orange and rustic brown colors of autumn. There was an icy chill in the air. The wind blew the beautiful leaves gently to the ground. This fall would change Richmond, Kentucky forever. Richmond was always an ideal innocent small town. The Eastern Kentucky University football team was usually the major excitement for the area. However events were about to occur, that would change this pattern. Huguley-The Other Side Four years previous to this date, A small but aggressive militia group began development of a commune south of Louisville, Kentucky. Louisville is on the Ohio River just on the other side of the Bluegrass Region of central Kentucky. Louisville is the site of the Kentucky Derby every spring. This year Louisville would obtain national headlines due to a clash between a Kentucky Militia Group and the Kentucky State Police. The leader of the group, Nathan Forrest Cole was notorious for his political philosophies. Cole advocated secession of a portion of Kentucky from the United States. His commune was a part of a new country he hoped to start just south of Louisville, Kentucky. Cole persuaded about two hundred families to settle on his commune. Among these people and families was a young lady name, Rachel Ravin. Rachel was the daughter of a wealthy research scientist from the Elizabethtown area. She became a follower of Cole after dropping out of the University of Louisville. She was studying for a master’s degree in political sciences. She heard Cole speak at a local rally one night near Riverside Park. Rachel later decided to join the commune. Her father Dr. John Ravin objected to her living on the commune. Later Rachel’s bother Ray Ravin joined the commune. Ray was an intelligent misfit. Nathan Cole attracted Ray like a magnet. Ray and Cole had a weird chemistry. They both were rebels.
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
The Other Side of Blue Grass is a racy thriller, a page-turner that incorporates the popular ingredients that attract contemporary readers. It is an adult novel with a plot line of many contemporary themes; the right to possess and bear arms, protection of individual rights, legal ethics, and an inter-racial romance. The protagonists and villains are believable. A main ingredient in the novel is a well-structured courtroom drama, worthy of John Grisham that connects and brings substance to the underlying theme of crime and punishment. A component of the mystery is provided by a mysterious illness that kills a group of lawyers attending an ABA meeting in a small Kentucky town. This episode, an integral part of the climax, is resolved in a Patricia Cornwell style and with the Internet. The story is given credibility through well-developed, realistic dialogue and movement of the story line through realistic scenes--the landscape and countryside of Kentucky. The novel succeeds in building a connection between the characters and the reader by developing individual characters’ personalities and motivations. Each character is alive at their first appearance. Readers will not be able to put down this novel due to their intense need to know what happens next. The story has an excellent climax and close that is believable and complete. This book will attract a broad readership from young to older adults.
About the Author
Garnett S. Huguley was born December 19, 1948 in Richmond, a small college town in Madison County, Kentucky. He is African American. He is the fifth and youngest child of Homer J. Huguley, Sr. and Flossie M. Huguley. He graduated from Richmond Madison High School on June 6, 1967, majored in Medical Technology, and graduated from Eastern Kentucky University on August 8, 1974. He moved to Atlanta, Georgia July 4, 1974. He is married to Cynthia J. Huguley, a pharmacist, and has three children, two daughters Nailah, and Akilah, and one son, Omari. He practiced Medical Technology at Emory University, Grady Memorial Hospital, and The Veterans Medical Center in Atlanta, GA before starting a career in the pharmaceutical industry with The Upjohn Company. He was transferred and lived in Columbia, S.C. for two years as part of a promotion. He was promoted again and transferred back to the Atlanta area in 1986. He presently lives in Marietta, GA. He completed a course titled, "Creative Nonfiction" in 1999 at Kennesaw University Continuing Education (Instructor-Sarah Anne Shope, M.A.P.W.). He is a writer, poet, and artist. He is active in the community and school system in East Cobb. One of his first poems, A Precious Generation was published in Connections, The Richmond Kentucky area African American Heritage Guide, 1998.